Saturday, May 19, 2012

Help support one of our favorite non-profit groups "The Mommies Network"! Our own Injury Prevention Specialist Leslie works closely with this non-profit group also and asks that you take the time to vote for this worthy charity that also supports our endeavors to help put an end to youth risk behaviors and "The Choking Game".The Mommies Network is a finalist non-profit in
Eleventy Group's 4Good contest. With a simple click to vote and another
to share, you can help boost TMN's fundraising power.
Better fundraising means technology upgrades, an expanding network, and
more time for our volunteers to focus on what they do best: make
mom-to-mom connections everyday.

Space Monkey is a game that teens play where a person either chokes
his/herself or has someone else do it until they almost pass out. It
can cause brain damage due to lack of oxygen to the brain.

A game played by boys and girls ages 10-20 who can't manage to get their
hands on any weed. Choking yourself causes lack of oxygen to the brain
and can cause oneself to lose consciousness or die. Kids think that it
makes them feel high, while really it just destroys their brain.

Accurate definitions? pretty much

Not just in the United States, this problem is a global problem!

An article from the UK based "Sky News" reports

Roddy Mansfield, Sky News Online

Children are 'strangling' themselves to get high then sharing the videos on the internet, campaign groups have warned.

Nicknamed "Space Monkey", the practice involves squeezing the carotid
arteries in the neck to restrict the flow of blood to the head.

Releasing the pressure leads to a sudden rush of oxygen to the brain,
giving a feeling of euphoria. But it can lead to brain damage,
un-consciousness and death.

The craze is well known in the US and France and parents and campaign groups fear it is now catching on in the UK.The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention claims in the last ten years 86 children may have died in the UK playing 'the choking game'.
There are no official figures for Britain, although the Department
for Children, Schools and Families claims it is aware of the problem.
You-tube videos seen by Sky News show youths taking it in turns to
squeeze each others necks before appearing to lose consciousness.
In one British video a teenager is seen hyperventilating before having his arteries crushed before passing out.

The practice can cause unconsciousness by restricting blood and oxygen to the brain

A YouTube spokesman told Sky News: "YouTube is a community site used
by millions of people in very positive ways. Sadly as with any form of
communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the
rules.
"If content breaks our terms then we remove it and if a user repeatedly breaks the rules we disable their account."
Teenagers are also sharing instructional videos to show others how
it's done and using scarves and ropes to choke themselves. Others are
posting Space Monkey reports online.
On a Yahoo forum, Baay, writes: "Just as I passed out I said 'it's so scary'.
"Then I fainted and I started like having a fit or something like shaking, was it a fit? And my eyes were open and rolling back.
"Now everyone is doing it at school, and apparently if I was doing all this I could of died, is that true?"
Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners,
told Sky News: "First you get asphyxia anoxia which is a lack of oxygen
to the brain, then you get a sudden rush of oxygen to the brain.
"Children are copying what they see in the videos and think they'll get a similar high to taking drugs.
"It is a significant problem which hasn't yet been picked up by parents and teachers.
"Not only is it difficult to prove how many people have died, we don't know how many near misses there have been."

The practice can cause unconsciousness by restricting blood and oxygen to the brain

Children are filming themselves choking each other and sharing the videos online